Spoil yourself with your own unique herbal bath salt blends made with natural ingredients and relaxing scents. Bath salts are the easiest natural skin care products the family herbalist can make and are often some of the most expensive items in store-bought gift sets. Making them at home, with your own home-grown herbs, can cut […]

“The home-tech environment of your kitchen is where herbalism lives. Herbalism thrives in the lay communities and hand-tended gardens of self-reliant plant people who cherish and practice their independence. Know that it is in your home that you can access and create for yourself the finest, most effective herbal products.” – herbalist James Green (2000) […]

Excerpt of an article that appeared in Essentials Magazine – October 2002 Herbal expert and grower, Di-Di Hoffman of Bouquet Garni, recommends following a gentle three-day herbal detox programme. ‘Some people go to extremes with fasting, laxatives, enemas, colonics, diuretics and even exercise. Most of these rigid detoxes do more harm than good, as they […]

An infusion of Borage leaves is nature’s best tonic for stress and stress related problems. The leaves contains vitamin C and are rich in calcium, potassium and mineral salts. Growing Borage Borage (Borago officinalis) is a lovely garden plant, with small bright blue flowers and an informal growth habit, reaching a height of 60cm. It […]

The Romans used to say: “Tempus fugit” and nothing has changed over all these years. No matter in which language you say it, time flies. Less than two months before Christmas, so if you want to spoil yourself with lovely fresh vegetables from your own garden during the Christmas holidays, now is the time to […]

You wouldn’t dare call a friend or relative by any other name than their own. Unless it’s your day for being rude. Nor would you call your potato salad an apple salad. You’ll just confuse your guests. We usually call plants by their common names. But these names can be very confusing. Example: Don’t confuse […]

This is the shortest lesson in this course but it one of the most important. The key to being a successful family herbalist is to be your own best testimonial. That is: be your own example of what herbs can do for people, and that means using herbs yourself. This sounds obvious, but sometimes people […]

Most popular medicinal herbs, are reasonably safe for most people most of the time when taken in recommended amounts. The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labels them as G.R.A.S. – Generally Regarded As Safe. But remember herbs do contain pharmacologically active compounds that have drug effects on the body when taken in medicinal doses. […]

It’s not often you get the opportunity to learn from the best. Faan Koekemoer is without any doubt one of the most experienced and pragmatic vegetable gardeners I know. He publishes a monthly newsletter jampacked with tips, tricks and timely advice for enthusiastic vegetable gardeners. And he has agreed to share it with our SA Herb Academy members. […]

As herbal medicine progresses back to its former position of popularity there is an increasing inclination on the part of the media to do “herbal exposés” that tend to be deceptive, sensationalist, and sometimes irrational. Fortunately, as you venture deeper into your study of the subject, you will be able to distinguish these hype pieces […]

In the foreword to her wonderful little book “Herbal Medicine”, herbalist Vicky Pitman relates the beautiful story by the Cherokee of how the green people came to the aid of human beings. “In the beginning of this world, all creatures could speak a common language, and respected and understood one another, taking only what they needed […]

“Healing” means to cure or make whole. Healing can include relief from spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, and demonic conditions. It is not immunity from sickness. Our bodies are in the “process of decay” and open to Satanic attacks as long as we are in this world. In chapter 2 of Battle for the Body (see […]

“Man is a product of his thoughts, what he believes, he becomes” – Mahatma Gandhi. In our experience most people who invest in a herb course like this have an underlying belief in the effectiveness of herbalism as a healing modality. And that, as Mahatma Gandhi hints, is critical to what you’ll get from such a course. Few people […]